Cavs’ Tyler Zeller dunks in the first half. David Zalubowksi, Associated Press

I had the Nuggets tonight in relief of Chris Dempsey, and the game story on their 117-109 loss to Cleveland and a short sidebar on Cavaliers coach Mike Brown are (or will be) online. It has been noted many times that Brown started out as a summer intern and then a video coordinator with the Nuggets, but I was able to get a fresh take on that and also discuss his friendship with Colorado Avalanche general manager Greg Sherman.

Happy Boxing Day. You might have caught the Lakers win against Melo and the Knicks yesterday. While Kobe put up big numbers and Pau Gasol made two great plays late, one could argue that the biggest importance was Steve Nash, playing in just his second game since returning from injury.

After the game, coach Mike D’Antoni told reporters:

“A point guard like him who has that respect, a lot of it is the credibility of doing it for a lot of years,” D’Antoni said after the Lakers beat the Knicks 100-94 for their fifth consecutive win. “He just puts everything in perspective and calms everybody down and gives you a chance to win every night. He keeps your energy up on defense because you’re not fighting yourself on the other end and you’re not being demoralized by things happening there. Everybody’s getting the ball, there’s a flow, and it feeds and it builds. It’s a like a little snowball that keeps getting bigger.”

George Karl is fiercely loyal to the coaching fraternity. And he’s fiercely opinionated when it comes to a coach being fired, in his eyes, prematurely. So here were Karl’s words Friday night about the Lakers’ firing of Mike Brown after a 1-4 start:

“It’s a bad day for basketball, it’s a sad day for coaching, I think it’s a disappointing day and disrespectful day for the situation. I don’t even know how to phrase it. I talked to 3-4 coaches. There’s just disillusionment about the whole thing. How can this happen? Why did it happen? It’s drastic and dramatic, and I’m sure we haven’t heard the last of it.”

Chris Dempsey arrived at The Denver Post in Dec. 2003 after seven years at the Boulder Daily Camera, where he primarily covered the University of Colorado football and men's basketball teams. A University of Colorado-Boulder alumnus, Dempsey covers the Nuggets and also chips in on college sports.